Why are some equations not rendered properly ?

[mumchumba]

As I browse through these forums I keep encountering, more often than not, equations where the markup has not rendered properly making the equations very difficult to read.

I imagine Physics Forums has a standard equation rendering engine integrated into this forum website, and I assume members endeavour to use this script equations for this rendering engine. So why then do most equations not render properly ?

Is there a plugin required ? I'm using Firefox latest version.

It really is most frustrating.

Cheers...

[Borek]

Give example of the page where the equations doesn't render OK. I recall there were some problems with LaTeX engine, but I thought they have been overcomed.

And no need for any plugins, these are displayed just as pictures.

x=\frac{-b\pm\sqrt{b^2-4ac}}{2a}

[mumchumba]

Thanks for the reply Borek.

Here are a few I stumbled across during this morning's reading:

http://www.physicsforums.com/archive/index.php/t-311241.html
http://www.physicsforums.com/archive/index.php/t-311043.html
http://www.physicsforums.com/archive/index.php/t-312863.html

There are many more so i'm not sure if these three will be representative, perhapps they simply didn't script the equations well.

Cheers...

[Borek]

If threads are seen in 'archive' mode LaTeX is not rendered at all. However, these threads can be still browsed in standard mode, like here:

http://www.physicsforums.com/showthread.php?t=311043

(note: thread number is the same as seen in url in the archive mode)

and then equations are rendered properly.

[mumchumba]

I see, so the archives won't render the equations but standard browsing will....thankyou so much for highlighting that. I shall now crawl back under my rock :-)

Cheers...

[jtbell]

You can switch from "archive mode" to "normal mode" by clicking on the link that follows "View Full Version:" at the top of an archive page. The equations will then display normally, unless of course the poster made a mistake in his LaTeX.

In the first example you posted, some of the equations look clunky in "normal mode" because the poster didn't use LaTeX consistently, but the other two are OK.

[mumchumba]

Thanks to both of you for the help and sorry it wasn't evident to me initialy.

Cheers...